Chapter 20
I now realize that I’ve greatly under-estimated Mr. Guppy. Within a small pond populated
with minnows, a bass is the king of fishes; Guppy surrounds himself with lesser
shrimplings ready to do his bidding. He shows himself to be a schemer of the
first order, utilizing his access to information passing through the offices of
Kenge and Carboy to his advantage. He is suspicious, resentful and devious.
His extraordinary apparent generosity to the down-and-out Tony Jobling
obviously has a darker purpose. In short order, at the cost of a dinner, he has
secured the services of an agent who is greatly beholden to him, placed under a
false name in position to access many legal documents let out by Snagsby and furthermore
to learn what may be learned from the much-inebriated Krook and Krook’s other
tenants. What further use Smallweed may become to Guppy, apart from running
errands has yet to be seen.
Chapter 21
Dickens takes delight in being a caricaturist, creating written versions of the
sort of cartoons that are featured on the editorial page of newspapers. Not
only do their physical appearance echo their personality and behavior, even
their names are part of their costume.
Old Mrs. Smallweed immediately calls to mind a pirate’s parrot, screeching “Pieces of eight!” at the mention of any numbers. She is a living metaphor for the family’s obsession with money.
Old Smallweed is coaching his grandson in the wiles of a schemer, taking advantage of any kind of friendship: ”Live at his expense as much as you can, and take warning by his foolish example." Perhaps Guppy’s errand boy may not turn out to be as naïve and pliable as Guppy expects.
Time and again, Dickens introduces characters with a mysterious — and often unsavory — past, beginning with Esther, then “Nemo” and even Lady Dedlock. Here, it’s Mr. George and the seemingly vanished Captain Hawdon.
Chapter 22
Tulkinghorn is a man who thrives on information, on knowledge about everyone
and everything around him, whether it be his clients, his own enterprise or the
affairs of his many adversaries and few friends. He is like a black hole in
space that absorbs light or intelligence in all forms and reflects nothing
back. This evening, he is deeply engaged in discovering certain secrets,
specifically the identity and mission of a certain veiled lady, as had recently
been revealed by young Jo to Snagsby. Responding to Snagsby’s tip, Tulkinghorn has
conceived a theory as to that woman’s identity and arranges an experiment to
test his hypothesis. In remarkably short order, he secures the services of Lady
Dedlock’s former French maid, a detective and young Jo himself. Tulkinghorn is
indeed a man to be reckoned with.
It’s also becoming obvious that Tulkinghorn knows a great deal about the unfortunate “Nemo” and has a keen interest in learning more. What purpose he envisions for the knowledge he has gained remains unclear.
Chapter 23
To some extent, this strikes me as primarily a housekeeping chapter, keeping tabs
on several characters. We learn that Mlle Hortense is still hanging about,
looking to cause trouble. It becomes clear that Richard is once again far from
being “settled” in his legal career but is increasingly drawn into the endless
lawsuit. Prince and Caddy confront their respective parents with their intent
to marry.
The only event that really seems to move matters along is the happy arrival of Charley, engaged as Esther’s maid — and Jarndyce having taken Charley and her orphan siblings under his protection. A welcome bit of sunny news. This is one of the rare occasions where the even-tempered Esther truly reveals very deep emotion, exhibiting her caring nature. Dickens has gone to great lengths in expanding her character, step by step, so that she seems to rise above the clamoring host of characters that Dickens presents us with.
Chapter 24
It’s gratifying that Mr. Jarndyce finally confronts Richard’s fecklessness,
wisely preventing Ada from being tied to him unless and until he grows up and
faces life.
As one learns to expect, knowing Dickens, Mr. George makes a re-appearance, here in the role of coach to Richard in the arts of combat. One senses that Mr. George, despite being in the clutches of loan-shark Smallweed, is at heart a worthy citizen and likely a man to be relied on in tight situations; a fellow who may be a good person for Esther to know.
Esther’s visit to court of Chancery, observing it “at work” makes real to her (and us) the full horror of the evil game being played with the lives of its victims. Shortly thereafter, Gridley’s tragic demise dramatically illustrates how the Chancery swindle comes to its inevitable end. I think it’s here that Dickens reveals the depth of his detestation of the entire incestuous scheme.
Chapter 25
In late medieval times, there existed a practice known as "trial by fire" whereby a person's guilt or innocence was to be determined by having them undergo an ordeal, such as walking barefoot through a fire. Preacher Chadband evidently views trial by oratory as a viable substitute, which he proceeds to invoke, to the confusion of his targets Jo and Mr. Snagsby. And the outcome falls far short of fulfilling Mrs. Snagsby's desires, indeed leaving her more distressed than before.
Chapter 26
I'm
convinced that George and his sidekick Phil are a couple of straight
shooters. It would seem to have been very tempting for the two of them
to have grabbed the old scoundrel right there on the spot, turned him
upside down and seen how much of value they could have shaken out of
him! Or simply do away with him and his hard-bitten granddaughter to
save everyone a lot of trouble. But of course, Mr. George realizes that
he's dealing with "the lawyer", so getting rid of his messengers will not
solve anything.
The Smallweeds of this world are troublesome, but
it's the powerful men who employ and direct them that are the real
menace. Dickens had a clear understanding of all that, along with his
detestation of the lawyers, hence he recognizes that simple acts of
violence seldom solve underlying problems. The way he tells this story
is therefore highly realistic.
But he also manages to have a great
deal of fun in the telling; the pictures he draws of Phil and Old
Smallweeds are quite comical.
Chapter 27
Once again, Tulkinghorn is there in the background, pulling the strings,
like a master puppeteer. He always manages to find agents to assist him min his
schemes. He has used Snagsby, Bucket, Mlle. Hortense and now Smallweeds in his
search for information. His resources seem endless.
It is perhaps gratifying that, reinforced by the common-sense advice of his
friends, George refuses to give Tulkinghorn what he wants. But in doing so
(and, having harbored a fugitive in poor Gridley) he has gained a powerful
enemy. This is the first time we’ve see the utterly sanguine lawyer reveal his
anger. One wonders if the next man that Tulkinghorn sends to arrest might be Mr.
George himself.
Chapter 28
Sir Leicester sees, in the burgeoning industrial class, the impending disintegration of society as he understands it; he is not at all mistaken in judging it so. The conversation he has with Mr. Rouncewell confirms his belief. As was the case in "Dombey and Son", the looming social upheaval wrought by the industrial revolution looms large in this novel. We are witnessing a social structure that has prevailed for hundreds of years now entering its last days. Sir Liecester may rail against what he sees happening but there's nothing he can do to stop it.
As in any great social clash, there may be innocent victims who suffer "collateral damage" — pretty Rosa might be among them.
Chapter 29
One of Guppy's foremost features is his single-minded pursuit of
advancement. He is envious of those in his law firm who have advanced
ahead of him. He has also been stridently driven by his mother to be
aware of his class and to constantly seek betterment — ideally through
an advantageous marriage. He is devious, selfish and vain — and yet in
many ways quite immature; nothing he is about to do is likely to be to
Esther's advantage, quite the contrary. He may be meddling with things
that are beyond his capability but he is just crafty enough to be
dangerous. A nasty piece of work
Further thoughts about Dickens: One cannot help suspecting that, along with his popularity, Dickens
must have accumulated a crowd of enemies in his day. He takes great
delight in attacking (usually with devastating wit but at other times
with bitter condemnation):
Lawyers and their ilk
Arrogant aristocrats
Loan-sharks
Freeloaders and poseurs
Self-styled philanthropists
Windbag preachers
Social climbers
Politicians
I
cannot recall whether he was ever sued for slander. Perhaps by
inventing far-fetched names for his characters, he may have been able to
fend off attacks by his targets.
Chapter 30
Esther of course completely avoids bragging in any way whatsoever, but
in relating the story of Caddy’s wedding preparations and the event
itself, what she reveals is nothing short of miraculous. By sheer force
of will and persuasion, she manages to corral the most uncooperative
wedding party imaginable into a semblance of order, having created out
of virtually nothing the wardrobe for a bride and the bride’s mother.
She proceeds to render the chaotic Jellyby living quarters sufficiently
clean and functional to serve as site for the bridal breakfast — all the
while securing the participation of both Mr. Turveydrop and Mrs.
Jellyby, despite both of them remaining completely distracted by their
own affairs. Once again, Esther has proven herself to be a young woman
of astonishing capability and drive. As predicted by the peculiar Mrs.
Woodcourt, Esther is likely to make some fortunate man a wife to be very
proud of, a spouse who would be the making of that man’s career.
Chapter 31
It strikes
me that a great deal of Dickens’ writing has much to do with justice — or more
to the point, injustice. He saw a world where the poor were unjustly treated,
rogues and charlatans thrived, the rich and powerful took what they wanted and
did as they pleased. And it is often the good-hearted and kind individuals who
get abuse instead of thanks. So he goes to some lengths here to contrast
Skimpole’s heartless attitude with that of Esther. This becomes quite
complicated as Charley’s reward for attempting to rescue Jo is to fall victim
to the illness that Jo has brought; but here things take a turn, for when
Esther falls ill, her kindness to Charley is repaid in kind as Charley becomes
nursemaid to Esther.
Chapter 32
Right from the beginning of this chapter, there is a disturbing aura of
impending doom. Time seems to stand still as the women gossip aimlessly
and Weevle is on tenterhooks. The air itself is even more foul than
usual in this grim neighborhood. When Guppy arrives, they begin to
squabble, as often happens among conspirators; each of them, knowing
that they are engaged in perfidy, distrusts the other, probably with
good reason. Anxious and impatient, they worry about what might go awry
with their scheme.
A terrific build-up to the scene of horror they come upon in Krook's room. Dickens at his gothic best!
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